Researchers say alcohol's beneficial use is only apparent if the senior citizen was in good health to begin with. Seniors who weren't healthy to begin with did not see a benefit from the alcohol.

Among those study participants who were in good health for the entire period, each additional drink per week translated into a 3-to-8 percent decrease in the likelihood of developing a debilitating handicap as age progressed.

Scientists used data from a national survey that has tracked 4,276 people since 1982. The survey watched their lifestyles and medical conditions closely over the 26 years since then.

The UCLA study was published this week in the American Journal of Epidemiology, and confirms other medical studies that show alcohol, which can thin blood, is beneficial in moderate amounts.

Drinkers were classified as light to moderate if they consumed less than 15 drinks per week, with less than five those on any given day for men (less than four per day for women).

Heavy drinkers were those who consumed 15 or more drinks per week or five or more per drinking day (four or more for women). Abstainers were those who drank fewer than 12 alcoholic beverages the previous year.

The study found that moderate drinkers had a risk of 12.5 percent of suffering a debilitating medical condition. The rate for heavy drinkers was a bit higher at 15.6 percent.

However, the chances of debilitating conditions for abstainers was much higher: 20 percent.